Two County Roads to be Closed for Repairs to St. Louis County Bridges

Duluth, MN (NNCNOW.com) --- Two county roads in St. Louis County will be closed for the next six weeks as crews repair the Lester River Bridge and the Cloquet River Bridge.

The final phase of repairs for the bridges are expected to being on Tuesday and will result in the closure of segments of the Jean Duluth Road north of Duluth and CSAH Highway 7 in Industrial Township.

The bridge that spans the Lester River on Jean Duluth Road was washed out in last June’s flood. Road crews worked through the fall and early winter to repair the bridge and re-open it in early January.

However, crews say that some of the finishing details could not be done in cold weather conditions. This includes pouring concrete approach panels, milling the bridge deck, road grading and some landscaping. The work is expected to take five to six weeks.

Construction also will resume Tuesday in Industrial Township on CSAH Highway 7 on the bridge over the Cloquet River. This road was closed for several months last year while the bridge, which had been deemed structurally deficient, was being rebuilt.

Crews re-opened the road in late November, but now need to pave the final road surface, paint the bridge and add ornamental metal railings. During this final phase of construction, which is expected to last six weeks, the road will be closed during the day while work is being done, but will be open to traffic during evening and weekend hours.